A Midsummer Night's Dream
Exclusive Benefit Reading - Limited Engagement!
Free to Watch Aug. 28-Sep. 1
Click here to make a donation to the Paul Rathburn Fund.
The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is proud to present a special online reading of Jeff Whitty's adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, in collaboration with Play On! Shakespeare. Originally commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Midsummer was directed by Lavina Jadhwani as the culmination of NDSF's summer of online performances, classes, and panel discussions.
LIVE Q&A Featuring Cast & Crew Members
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The Midsummer reading featured Sarah Scanlon, Ariel in the NDSF 2016 production of The Tempest, and Cameron Knight, director of NDSF's 2018 production of Othello and star of NDSF 2017's production of Much Ado About Nothing. Titania and Bottom were read by Chicago-based actors Susaan Jamshidi and Jason Goff, and Helena was read by Nemuna Ceesay.
Whitty, whose text was the basis of the reading, is an Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning playwright (Avenue Q), screenwriter, and actor.
Premiering August 28, 2020 at 7pm EDT, the reading was available on the Shakespeare at Notre Dame YouTube channel for four days only. The performance was free to watch; donations benefited the Paul Rathburn Fund supporting NDSF artists. The Festival's founder and original Producing Artistic Director, Dr. Paul Rathburn passed away February 12. The reading celebrated his legacy on his birthday weekend.
The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival exists to enrich on-campus and surrounding communities and in the summer of 2020 celebrated the award of two prominent grants: the Play On Shakespeare! reading and another from the National Endowment for the Arts Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice.
CAST & CREW:
- Jonathan Allsop: Moth / Peter Quince
- Nemuna Ceesay*: Helena
- Jacob Chan: Lysander
- James Cullinane: Francis Flute / Thisbe
- Jason Goff*: Egeus / Bottom
- Shianne Harrison: Cobweb / Starveling / Moonshine
- Kevin Hauger: Mustardseed / Tom Snout / Wall
- Susaan Jamshidi*: Hippolyta / Titania
- Cameron Knight*: Theseus / Oberon
- Sarah Scanlon*: Puck / Philostrate
- Jordan Taylor: Hermia
- Kendra Turner: 1st Fairy / Peaseblossom / Lion
- Nicholas Wren: Demetrius
- Lavina Jadhwani**: Director
- Kathy Preher Reynolds*: Stage Manager
* This artist appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
** Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.